FPL 2024/25 champion Lovro Budišin speaks to FFScout

Lovro Budišin last weekend became the 23rd overall winner of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) – and the first Croat to finish first.

The seemingly inevitable was confirmed on the final day of 2024/25 as Lovro, who had been leading the chasing pack from Gameweek 31 onwards, held on to top spot and ended up 23 points ahead of his nearest challenger, Jack Brennan.

The 24-year-old, who studies geodesy in Zagreb, nearly set a new points record, too (helped somewhat by the new Assistant Manager chip), falling 34 short of Jamie Pigott’s 2,844 in 2021/22.

It marked a huge improvement on Lovro’s previous best finish: 508k in 2023/24.

The Croatian national was kind enough to answer our questions this week, and our thanks go to Lovro for his time.

Congratulations on becoming FPL champion. How did you spend the final day? 

Thanks a lot. For me, it was a day like any other. After waking up, I went for a morning coffee with friends, and afterwards, I went to a family birthday party. There, I used one phone to search for information about who would be starting, and another on which I was simultaneously using an app and thinking about possible changes. Later, I also followed the matches using a tablet and two phones. Once it was over, I had a brief celebration and then started working on a seminar paper for university!

With such a huge lead going into Gameweek 38, how confident were you of victory? Was there a Gameweek before the final day where you were confident you’d done enough to finish first? 

To be honest, I still wasn’t convinced that I would win. The last Gameweek usually has a lot of goals, and I couldn’t relax until the final whistle. I agree that I had a good lead, but it wouldn’t be the first time that something miraculous happened in the last round.

In the run-in, did you change tactics or alter the way you normally play in terms of protecting a lead? 

In the final Gameweek, I looked at the teams of the players in the top five and tried to predict what they might do if they were planning to overtake me. I can say that I played that round more defensively than usual.

You’ve been playing for many seasons and your previous best was 500k, so what changed this year?

The only difference this year was that I was consistent: I didn’t forget to make transfers or change my captain! In most of the previous years, I would give up after forgetting to do those things. And also, luck was on my side. 

Above: Lovro’s FPL season history

What was/is your approach to setting up a Gameweek 1 squad? I noticed, for instance, that you went very cheap at the back (three £4.0m def/GKs, three at £4.5m) and had eight playable attackers, rather than a bench fodder midfielder/forward. Do you see yourself repeating that approach going forward?

In today’s football, the focus is on attractiveness and scoring goals, so I also prefer to have stronger players in midfield and attack. In defence, I try to find as many offensive-minded players as possible at an affordable price. I think I’ll stick to that approach next season as well, but I’ll see — I believe transfers will once again play a big role in decision-making.

Above: Lovro’s Gameweek 1 squad

Your rank was 2.8 million in Gameweek 4. Nine successive green arrows followed, which took you up to inside the top 500 in the world. What was your approach during these weeks, as you were patient and held onto the Wildcard until Gameweek 12?

Everyone has a bad Gameweek, but the season is long and there’s no room for panic. Everything can change in just a few rounds, so I just kept playing as if nothing had happened. Being first in the first part of the season guarantees nothing, and likewise, that rank of mine from Gameweek 4 isn’t that important at the end. It’s important to trust your own choices – it doesn’t mean they’ll deliver every Gameweek, but there’s a reason I picked them. I use the Wildcard when I feel I need a completely new team, whether it’s because of players’ form or the upcoming schedule. I don’t use chips impulsively.

Above: Lovro’s superb run from Gameweeks 5-13

There was a change to the transfer rules this season but you only rolled to three on one occasion, and that wasn’t until Gameweek 33. You also took three hits. Did the change in transfer rules not alter the way you play or was it more a case of there constantly being players to sell (ie injuries) and moves in which your hand was forced? 

I liked the change, but honestly, it’s very difficult to reach the maximum number of free transfers — there’s always an injury or the role and importance of a new player in the team changes. I also keep an eye on the difficulty of the upcoming fixtures. I’m not a big fan of taking points hits; I really only use that option in situations like in Gameweek 29, where I took a -4 instead of using the Free Hit chip. A four-point difference isn’t small, but if a player is injured for a longer period or I have a strong feeling that someone might explode that week, then I take it into consideration.

Did you ever make transfers early in the week to chase team value (not that it seemed to be as important this season)? Do you prefer to hang on till later in the week and get more information? 

Honestly, I can’t agree that team value wasn’t that important this season. In the end, I was able to have practically 15 first-team players, all of whom were potential starters and point scorers. During the first part of the season, I paid more attention to price changes, but I’m also not a fan of getting rid of a player just because his price is dropping. Sometimes I took a risk by making a transfer early in the week if I was sure I wanted to bring in a specific player, and later on, when I had enough money, I could afford to wait until the very end. It’s always better when you have the luxury to wait until the deadline — a lot can change during the week in terms of player fitness or the coach-player relationship.

You have held Mohamed Salah through the entire season and only owned Erling Haaland for one Gameweek. Did the Norwegian tempt you in the early weeks when he was banging goals in for fun, and are you a particularly big Salah fan your faith in him? Will you be backing Salah again next season?

Honestly, I wasn’t exactly calm when I saw how Haaland started the season, but Salah more or less kept up with him, which was a relief. Also, players like Son Heung-min, Kai Havertz, Ola Aina and Chris Wood were a big plus for me in the battle against Haaland’s points. In my opinion, it’s always better to have several players who can bring in points, rather than relying on just one or two and hoping the rest do something.

I don’t know who I’ll have next season — there are a lot of factors at play, and price is the main one. Of course, Salah will most likely be Liverpool’s key player again, but I also expect some new stars to emerge in other teams. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Salah, but I’m well aware of his qualities. It’s much easier for me to play this game since I’m not a fan of any particular team in England — I just enjoy the league itself for the quality of football and the excitement it brings.

Above: Lovro’s most-used players, via FPL Wrapped

You had an 83.3% success rate of captains (7+ points returns) this season. Salah was obviously a big draw (you captained him on 23 occasions) but what went into your captaincy decisions on a weekly basis?

For me, despite all the available stats, which I do check, the most important thing is the gut feeling that helped me throughout the entire season. When I have several players I’d consider captaining, I discuss all the pros and cons with friends, and in the end, I choose the player based on my own idea of how that match will play out.

Defenders struggled for returns this season. I noticed you only started a back four on two occasions (outside of the Bench Boost), too. Did you focus more on attacking potential with defenders or did you ever look towards big blocks of fixtures where clean sheets were possible, too? 

I mostly focus on defensive players who have the freedom to go forward and those who are dangerous from set pieces — whether they’re taking them or are the main target. I think it’s very hard to predict which team will keep a clean sheet, so I’m more than happy when it actually happens.

On a similar subject, how much attention do you pay to medium-term fixtures (ie do you use a fixture ticker)? 

Well, I can’t say I don’t look at the upcoming fixtures, but for me, that’s just an extra factor when bringing in a new player or getting rid of a current one. Still, it doesn’t always work out the way we expect. There were Gameweeks where I made a transfer thinking it was a great move, and then that player did nothing against a supposedly weaker team, while the one I sold ended up scoring or assisting.

You had some success with the Assistant Manager this season, nailing three double-digit hauls (including Oliver Glasner’s 20-pointer). What were your thoughts on the chip and would you like to see it again this season? 

Honestly, I like that chip, although I think it could be further improved. Maybe it could give even more points when there’s a bigger difference in the table between the teams — of course, if the “weaker” team beats the “stronger” one — and perhaps their away wins could be valued differently. I’m sure there are smarter people who will look into that. I just hope that chip will be an option again this year.

Above: Lovro’s Assistant Manager returns this season

The ‘analytics’ movement has seen a bit of a rise in recent seasons. Are you a big user of data (projected points etc) or do you tend to go more by instinct and your own gut feeling? What tools do you use, if any?

I look at previous matches of the teams playing and see if a player tends to prefer playing against a certain team. I also casually skim through YouTube videos with those projected points, but in the end, I always go with my own gut feeling. 

Which players do you think could do well in FPL next season? Do you have your eye on any breakout stars? 

Honestly, I don’t even know right now who will stay or which new signings will be brought in. It’s really hard for me to decide on anyone, but for example, I really like the signing of Jeremie Frimpong for Liverpool. If Florian Wirtz signs as well, that will also be an interesting option.

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